Science & Technology
Audible deploys AI-narrated audiobooks. Can it replace the human touch? | TechCrunch Minute
Audible has made it easy for authors to turn their work into audiobooks with AI — but can they replace the human touch? The publishing industry has been releasing AI narrators to generate audiobooks. While authors may be embracing a cheaper and quicker way to produce audiobooks, consumers and critics are concerned about what this…
@VoxStoica
May 8, 2024 at 1:20 pm
It’s honestly pretty great for books that aren’t going to sell too many copies. Means they become available vs never being available. It also fits fine for books that don’t take much concentration and where meanings can’t be misinterpreted. The sort of thing I listen to in the gym or while doing chores.
Human voices still have an edge on imbuing correct meaning into sentences, which is very important for more complex categories like philosophy. But I dare say it’s only a matter of time until the voice software catches up. LLMs can presumably understand meaning so it’s just a matter of pairing them up with the voice synthesizers.
Provided everything is labelled honestly I don’t mind.
@jamesjackson8292
May 9, 2024 at 12:05 pm
I’ve listened to a few with a ai narration and they are not terrible but also they get confused whenever there isn’t standard phrasing in a story. For example something like a-a-a-h or other onanamonapea